Breville appoints Canberra student to design team

SYDNEY: Breville has awarded the inaugural John O’Brien Scholarship to Canberra industrial design student, Kellie Jobling, who will now undertake a 12-month placement internship within the company’s design department.

At a presentation dinner held at Café Sydney last night, Jobling beat three other students to win the Young Designer Award with her innovative appliance concept – a Hydroponic Herb Grower.

According to Breville design and innovation director, Richard Hoare, there was a lot of competition for the scholarship prize with a large number of entries received from the top industrial design universities in Australia.

The judging panel comprised Breville’s design, commercial and marketing teams reduced the entries to a shortlist of four finalists who were flown to Sydney on Tuesday to present their concepts for a healthy food preparation appliance.

Each finalist was critiqued on their concept and allowed two days to work with a Breville design team member to finalise their models, before making a final presentation on Thursday morning.

“The calibre of entry we have received is tantamount to the success of this initiative and we are very much looking forward to welcoming Kellie Jobling to the design team. Kellie’s concept not only showed flair in design but also demonstrated commercial feasibility.”

“As an Australian brand, renowned for its innovation and award-winning design we strongly believe in the importance of developing young Australian design talent,” said Hoare.

“Breville is committed to continuing to build on the success of the first Young Designer Award and is currently working with universities to incorporate the scheme into final year curriculum for industrial design students,” said Breville general manager – marketing, Cameron Searle.

For the 2006 Young Designer Award, final year industrial design students were invited to design a ‘Healthy Food Preparation’ kitchen appliance, in accordance with a brief developed by the Breville design team. The concept of ‘healthy food preparation’ came about as levels of obesity and diabetes continue to grow in many parts of the world, including Australia.

“Breville is an active supporter of healthy lifestyle choices, so it is only natural that the design brief for this competition was centred on making healthy food,” Searle said.

The John O’Brien Scholarship is named after Breville’s long-standing former chairman and represents the first award of its kind in the local small appliance industry.